Automated teller machine (&#34;atm&#34;) currency stamper

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for an automated teller machine (“ATM”) currency stamper are provided. The currency stamper may be configured to mark currency retracted by the ATM. The mark may include one or more attributes of the currency. The mark may include transaction information associated with a dispensing and/or retraction of the currency. Marked currency may be stored in the ATM. Marked currency may be scanned. A scanning of marked currency may read the attributes of the currency and the transaction information included in the mark. The scanning of the marked currency may erase the mark. A value of the marked currency may be calculated. The value may be determined based on the currency attributes and transaction information included in the mark applied to the currency.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

Aspects of the invention relate to reducing costs associated withautomated teller machine (“ATM”) mis-dispense claims.

BACKGROUND

ATMs provide banking customers an ability to access bank accountinformation, deposit funds and withdraw cash. ATMs may often obviate theneed for a banking customer to consult a human clerk. Additionally, ATMsmay be located in a variety of diverse locations remote from bankingcenters. For example, ATMs may be placed on street corners, inconvenience stores, supermarkets or sports arenas.

In a typical ATM transaction, the customer may submit a request for awithdrawal of an amount of cash. The ATM may determine whether thecustomer has a bank account balance corresponding to, at least, a valueof the requested funds. If the customer has sufficient bank accountbalance, the ATM may dispense the requested amount of cash.

The ATM may present the requested amount of cash to the customer. If thecustomer does not collect all of the dispensed cash, the ATM may beconfigured to retract uncollected cash. The ATM may be configured towait for an expiration of a “time out” period before retracting cash.

An ATM customer may not retrieve all, or a portion of, dispensed cashbecause of an ATM malfunction. For example, the customer may submit arequest for $80.00 in twenty-dollar notes and the ATM may erroneouslydispense the requested $40.00 in ten-dollar notes. As a further example,the ATM may not provide sufficient time for the customer to become awarethat the cash has been dispensed. The ATM may retract cash before thecustomer has time to collect dispensed cash.

In response to a retraction of cash by the ATM, a customer may submit amis-dispense claim. The customer may submit the mis-dispense claim to anoperator of the ATM. The customer may submit the mis-dispense claim toan entity responsible for managing a bank account of the customer.

The customer may request a credit for uncollected cash retracted by theATM. The customer may request that because cash was retracted by theATM, the account of the customer should not be debited. The customer mayallege that none or a portion of a requested amount of cash wascollected by the customer.

A wide variety of ATM locations and lack of close supervision at an ATMincreases a risk that a customer may submit an unwarranted mis-dispenseclaim. For example, the customer may intentionally collect only aportion of the dispensed cash. The customer may then submit amis-dispense claim alleging not to have collected any of the dispensedcash. Unwarranted mis-dispense claim have become so prevalent that someATM operators have disabled a cash retraction feature of ATMs.

It would be desirable to provide a solution that examines cash retractedby an ATM following an unsuccessful customer withdrawal. Examination ofretracted cash may provide information useful in a processing ofmis-dispense claims and fraud research. For example, the examination mayprovide details such as denomination, number of bills retracted and atransaction identifier associated with the retraction.

It would be desirable to provide a solution that examines customerinteraction with an ATM. The customer interaction may include collectionof dispensed cash. The customer interaction may include a deposit oftangible items into the ATM. The customer interaction may includetampering with one or more components of the ATM. Examination ofcustomer interaction with the ATM may provide information useful in aprocessing of mis-dispense claims and fraud research.

Additionally, a requirement to replenish the cash supply of the ATM is acost of operating an ATM or a network of ATMs. Typically, ATMs may berefilled between bi-weekly to per day. Some ATMs in busy locations mustbe refilled twice a day. ATM operators may be reluctant to stock ATMswith additional cash because until the cash is dispensed from the ATMthe cash is idling, increasing an opportunity cost of the cash.Restricting the amount of cash that may be withdrawn by a customer mayinconvenience and irritate the customer. Armored personnel and servicesare typically employed to deliver cash to an ATM, further increasing thecost of replenishing the cash supply of an ATM.

An examination of cash dispensed or retracted by an ATM may indicatethat a cash inventory of the ATM is not being efficiently utilized.Obtaining accurate information relating to cash dispensing or retractingmay allow an ATM operator to better manage a cash inventory of an ATM ornetwork of ATMs.

For example, an ability to examine cash prior to dispensing the cash mayverify that genuine notes of the correct denomination are beingdispensed from the ATM. The examination may reduce a cost of dispensingcounterfeit notes, non-currency items or incorrect denominations thatmay have been erroneously loaded into the ATM. Detection of an erroneousloading of cash into the ATM may identify a human error or a processbreakdown related to cash inventory.

Therefore, it would be desirable to obtain detail associated with cashdispensed or retracted from an ATM. It would be desirable to obtaintransaction detail associated with cash dispensed or retracted from anATM. The transaction detail may supply information used in managing cashsupplied to an ATM.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods formarking of retracted currency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows illustrative apparatus in accordance with principles of theinvention;

FIG. 2 shows illustrative apparatus in accordance with principles of theinvention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative apparatus in accordance with principles ofthe invention;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative process in accordance with principles ofthe invention;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative information in accordance with principlesof the invention;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative process in accordance with principles ofthe invention; and

FIG. 7 shows illustrative information in accordance with principles ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Apparatus and methods for marking a tangible item are provided. Thetangible item may include currency, tickets boarding passes or anytangible item dispensed by a self-service kiosk (“SSK”). Apparatus andmethods may be applied to validate a number of items that are dispensedor retracted by a SSK.

Apparatus and methods may be deployed at any suitable self-service kiosk(“SSK”) that dispenses tangible items. Apparatus and methods may beapplied to cash dispensing equipment including ATMs, currency recyclersand self-checkout machines located at retail merchants. Apparatus andmethods may be applicable dispensing of non-cash items—i.e., airportkiosks, self-serve movie theater kiosks—and any suitable self-servicekiosk that dispenses or retracts items.

Methods may be performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may include anon-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory computerreadable medium may include computer readable program code embodiedtherein. The apparatus may include a processor. The processor may beconfigured to execute the computer readable program code.

Methods may include retracting currency dispensed at a SSK. The currencymay include a plurality of bills. The SSK may be an automated tellermachine (“ATM”). The methods may include receiving a request for anamount of currency. In response to the request, the methods may includeextracting the amount of currency from a cash cassette. The cashcassette may store cash available to be dispensed by the ATM. Themethods may include dispensing the amount of currency. The currency mayinclude a plurality of notes or bills.

The methods may include retracting at least a portion of the dispensedamount of currency. The portion of the amount of currency may include aplurality of notes or bills. The retracted currency may be currency thatwas not collected by the customer. The methods may include applying amark to the retracted currency. The methods may include applying themark to each note or bill in a plurality of notes or bills.

The mark may be an ultraviolet stamp. The mark may be applied using amedium that does not deface the currency. The mark may be applied usinga medium that is not visible to a human eye. The mark may be applied toat least the portion of an amount of retracted currency.

The methods may include storing retracted currency in a purge-bin. Thecurrency may be stored in the purge-bin after the mark is applied to theretracted currency. The methods may include removing the retractedcurrency from the purge-bin. The methods may include scanning the markapplied to the retracted currency. The methods may include determining avalue of retracted currency based on the scanning.

For example, each bill that is retracted by an ATM may be stamped withan ultraviolet mark. The retracted bills may be stored in a purge-bin ofthe ATM. The purge-bin may be removable from the ATM. The currencystored in the purge-bin may be extracted. The marked currency may betransferred to a reader that extracts information included in theultraviolet mark applied to each bill.

The mark may include any suitable information. For example, the mark mayinclude a transaction identifier. The transaction identifier may beassociated with an action performed by a SSK. The transaction identifiermay be associated with an action performed by a customer of the SSK. Thetransaction identifier may correspond to a retraction of currency. Thetransaction identifier may correspond to any suitable action performedby a SSK.

A mark applied to currency may include information associated with a SSKtransaction. The information may include a transaction identifierassociated with a dispensing of the currency. The transaction identifiermay correspond to an SSK session identifier. The SSK session identifiermay link one or more transactions that occurred during a SSK session. Adispensing of cash may be a transaction that occurs during the SSKsession.

The information may include a denomination of a bill. For example, a SSKmay dispense cash from a cash cassette. The cash cassette may be loadedwith a specific denomination of cash. For example, the cash cassette maybe expected to include only twenty-dollar bills. The mark applied to aretracted bill may include an expected denomination of dispensedcurrency. After a retracted bill is retrieved from a purge-bin, theretracted currency may be examined.

The examination may include determining a denomination of the retractedcurrency. The determined denomination may be compared to a denominationincluded in the mark. Based on the comparison, an ATM operator mayidentify a mis-loaded cash cassette. The mis-loaded cash cassette mayinclude a cash cassette loaded with a non-cash item or an unexpecteddenomination. For example, the denomination included in the mark may notmatch the denomination determined by examination of the currency.

After applying a mark to currency, the currency may be scanned. Thescanning may obtain information included in the mark. Based on theinformation included in the mark, a transaction identifier may beassociated with a scanned bill. The transaction identifier may associatethe scanned bill with a customer or SSK transaction. The SSK transactionmay include a dispensing of cash. Each bill in a purge-bin that ismarked with an identical transaction identifier may be associated withone dispensing of cash. A value of cash dispensed may be compared to avalue of cash retracted. Based on a difference between the valuedispensed and the value retracted, a value of cash collected by an ATMcustomer may be determined.

Methods may include applying a mark to less than all of a plurality ofretracted bills. For example, the mark may be applied to a firstretracted bill and a last retracted bill. The mark applied to the firstretracted bill may indicate that the first bill is associated with aplurality of bills. The mark applied to the last retracted bill mayindicate that the last retracted bill is the last bill associated withthe plurality of bills. The mark may be applied to the first and lastretracted bills if a SSK dispenses a single denomination. The mark maybe applied to the first and last retracted bills if a purge-binmaintains retracted currency in an order.

The methods may include identifying a customer account associated with awithdrawal request. The methods may include debiting the identifiedcustomer account a difference between the amount dispensed by a SSK andthe value of the currency retracted by the SSK. A difference between thevalue dispensed and the amount retracted may correspond to currencypresumably collected by the customer from the SSK.

The mark may include a denomination of each bill of currency. The markmay include a transaction identifier associated with a request for theamount of currency. The transaction identifier may associate a customeror a customer account with an action performed by a SSK. Including thetransaction identifier in a mark may allow marked currency to beassociated with a customer.

The methods may include applying the mark after currency is extractingfrom a cash cassette and prior to dispensing the currency. For example,after extracting currency from the cash cassette, the currency may bemarked with an expected denomination of the currency stored in the cashcassette. If the currency is retracted, the retracted currency may beexamined to determine if the retracted currency is of the expecteddenomination.

Methods may include erasing a previously applied mark. Easing the markmay prevent marked bills from being recirculated. Erasing the mark mayprevent currency marked from being erroneously associated with atransaction identifier or a SSK customer.

In some embodiments, the watermark may expire. For example, after aperiod of time a quality of the watermark may degrade. The quality maydegrade such that the watermark is not readable by a scanner. Thequality may degrade such that the watermark is not visible. Thewatermark may be designed to expire after a threshold period of time.The threshold period of time may be determined based on an expectedamount of time needed to retrieve retracted cash from a SSK.

Apparatus may include a cash cassette. The cash cassette may beconfigured to store cash. Apparatus may include a cash dispenser. Thecash dispenser may be configured to disburse cash. The cash dispensermay disburse cash stored in the cash cassette. The disbursed cash may becollected by a customer. The cash dispenser may be configured to retractcash. The cash dispenser may retract cash that is not collected by thecustomer.

The apparatus may include a stamp applicator. The applicator may beconfigured to apply a mark to cash. The mark may be an ultravioletidentifier. The stamp applicator may apply the ultraviolet identifier toretracted cash. The stamp applicator may be a component of a SSK. Theultraviolet stamp application may be configured to apply the ultravioletidentifier after cash is retracted by the dispenser.

The ultraviolet stamp applicator may apply an ultraviolet identifierthat is invisible to a human eye. Apparatus may include an ultravioletstamp reader. The ultraviolet stamp reader may be configured to scan theultraviolet identifier. Scanning the ultraviolet identifier may extractinformation from the ultraviolet identifier. The apparatus may beconfigured to read the ultraviolet identifier after the cash isretracted by the dispenser.

The apparatus may include a purge-bin. The purge-bin may be configuredto store cash retracted by the dispenser. The ultraviolet stamp readermay be configured to read the ultraviolet identifier after the cash isstored in the purge bin. The apparatus may be configured to read theultraviolet identifier after the cash is removed from the purge-bin.

The ultraviolet identifier may include a denomination. The ultravioletidentifier may include a transaction identifier. The transactionidentifier may be associated with a request for an amount of cash. Therequest may be submitted by a customer. The request may be submitted bythe customer to a SSK. The request may include an account numberassociated with the customer. The request may include one or morecredentials of the customer.

An ultraviolet identifier may include a time and date. The time and datemay correspond to an action performed by a SSK. For example, the timeand date may correspond to a retraction of currency by an ATM. The timeand date may correspond to a customer request for a withdrawal ofcurrency.

Based on the time and date, a series of SSK actions may be associatedwith a retraction of currency. For example, the ultraviolet identifiermay correspond to a time and date of a retraction. A typical retractionof currency by an SSK may occur within two minutes of a request for awithdrawal. Based on the time and date of the retraction, actionsperformed by the ATM two minutes prior to the retraction may beassociated with the retraction.

Illustrative actions that may be performed by a SSK are shown below inTable 1.

TABLE 1 Illustrative actions performed by an SSK Illustrative ActionsPerformed by an SSK Authenticate customer Access customer accountinformation Dispense cash Receive deposit from a customer Validatedeposit Retract cash Print receipt Validate dispensed cash Validateretracted cash Transfer retracted cash to purge-bin Weigh cash

SSK actions associated with the retraction may be associated with acustomer or customer account. For example, a request for a withdrawalmay include credentials identifying the customer or the customeraccount. A database may include a relationship an SSK session and acustomer. The SSK session may be associated with one or moretransactions and/or actions performed by a SSK.

Methods may include determining a number or value of tangible itemsretracted by a SSK. The SSK may be an automated teller machine (“ATM”).The tangible items may be bills of currency.

Methods may include receiving a request to dispense a plurality ofbills. The plurality of bills may correspond to an amount. Methods mayinclude applying a watermark to each bill in the plurality of bills. Thewatermark may be an ultraviolet watermark or any suitable watermark.Methods may include associating a transaction identifier with thewatermark.

Methods may include retracting at least a portion of the plurality ofbills. Methods may include storing the retracted bills in a purge-bin.Methods may include removing the retracted bills from the purge-bin.Methods may include scanning the watermark on each retracted bill.Methods may include scanning the watermark on one or more bills storedin the purge-bin.

Methods may include determining a value corresponding to the retractedbills. The value may correspond to one or more bills retrieved from thepurge-bin. Methods may include associating the value with a transactionidentifier. The transaction identifier may correspond to an actionperformed by an SSK. For example, a transaction identifier maycorrespond to a retraction of cash or a dispensing of cash. IllustrativeSSK actions are shown above in Table 1. The SSK may perform one or moreactions on behalf of a customer.

The transaction identifier may be associated with information thatidentifies a customer or customer account. For example, a retracting ofbills may be associated with a dispensing of the bills. The dispensingof the bills may be associated with a withdrawal request submitted by acustomer.

An association between SSK actions may be based on one or morecharacteristics of each of the actions. The characteristics may includea temporal link between the actions, a geographic link between theactions or any suitable link between actions.

Methods may include identifying a customer account associated with atransaction identifier. The transaction identifier may be part of awatermark applied to retracted currency. Methods may include debitingthe identified customer account a difference between the amount of cashdispensed and the value of cash retracted. The difference may correspondto currency collected by the customer.

Methods may include erasing watermark applied to a bill. The watermarkmay be an ultraviolet watermark. The erasing may be performed after ascanning of the watermark. Erasing the watermark may prevent a markedbill from erroneously being associated with a customer account.

Methods may include receiving a mis-dispense claim. The mis-dispenseclaim may include a request for a refund amount. For example, a customermay allege that in response to a request for a withdrawal of $100.00, anSSK dispensed $20.00 or the SSK malfunctioned and did not dispense anycurrency.

In response to receiving the mis-dispense claim, methods may includeidentifying a transaction identifier associated with the mis-dispenseclaim. For example, a mis-dispense claim may include informationrelating to an alleged SSK malfunction. The information may include anapproximate date and/or time of the alleged SSK malfunction. Themis-dispense claim may include a location of the SSK. The mis-dispenseclaim may include a customer name or an account number.

In response to receiving the mis-dispense claim, information included ina mis-dispense claim may be associated with one or more transactionidentifiers. The transaction identifiers may be associated with themis-dispense claim based on relationship between the transactionidentifier and information included in the mis-dispense claim. Adatabase may store relationships among transaction identifiers, customernames, customer account numbers, SSK location and transactiontime/dates.

The database may include a relationship that links a set of transactionsto information included in an applied watermark. For example, thewatermark may include a transaction identifier. The transactionidentifier may correspond to retraction of cash by an SSK. Thetransaction identifier may be associated with a set of transactionsconducted during an SSK session. Each member of the set of transactionsmay have occurred within a threshold time period proximate to theretraction of cash by the SSK. For example, the set of transactions mayinclude submission of a withdrawal request, a dispensing of cash and aretraction of cash.

An association between the set of transactions identifier and thewatermark may indicate that the marked currency is associated with oneor more of the transactions in the set. The one or more transactions maybe used to determine an amount of currency collected by a customer. Forexample, one member of the set of transactions may include a dispensingof an amount of currency.

Analysis of each transaction in the set may identify a transactionpattern associated with the retraction. The pattern may form a signatureassociated with a SSK malfunction. The pattern may form a signatureassociated with unscrupulous customer conduct.

Each SSK retraction may be associated with a unique transactionidentifier. Each transaction identifier may be associated with a set oftransactions. Analysis of multiple sets of transactions may identify abehavioral pattern. The pattern may identify a set of transactionslikely to be associated with a retraction. The pattern may identify aset of transactions likely to be associated with unscrupulous customerbehavior.

The pattern may include multiple sets of transactions that occur withina geographic region. Based on the pattern, the geographic region may beidentified as a region associated with a high frequency of retractions.In response to identification of the pattern, an SSK operator maydisable a retraction capability of one or more SSKs within the region.The one or more SSKs may inform a customer's of the disabling.

Methods may include associating a mis-dispense claim with a value ofretracted currency. The value may be determined by scanning a watermarkapplied to the retracted currency. The value may be determined bytracking a number of bills that each includes a single transactionidentifier in the watermark. The value may be determined by trackingeach bill that includes a member of a set of transaction identifiers inthe watermark. The value may be associated with a mis-dispense claim.The value may be associated with the mis-dispense claim based on arelationship between information included in the mis-dispense claim andinformation included in the watermark.

The mis-dispense claim may include a request for a refund amount. Therefund amount may be an amount of currency that the customer alleges wasnot dispensed from the SSK. The customer may allege that theun-dispensed amount was debited from the customer's account.

Methods may include comparing a refund amount requested by the customerin the mis-dispense claim to a value of the retracted currency.

Methods may include responding to the mis-dispense claim based on adifference between the refund amount and a value associated with markedcurrency. For example, a watermark applied to retracted currency mayinclude a transaction identifier that corresponds to a withdrawalrequest received at an ATM. The watermark may include a denomination ofeach bill in the retracted currency.

After the retraction, the watermarked currency may be stored in apurge-bin of the ATM. The purge-bin may be removed from the ATM and thewatermarked currency may be scanned. The scanning may read thetransaction identifier printed on the retracted currency. The scanningmay read the denomination printed on each retracted bill. The scanningmay include erasing the watermark from each retracted bill.

Based on the scanning, a value of the retracted currency may bedetermined. The value may be associated with the transaction identifierincluded in the watermark. The transaction identifier may be linked tothe customer that submitted the withdrawal request. If the transactionidentifier and the value of the retracted currency value are associatedwith a customer that submitted the mis-dispense claim, the customer maybe limited to a refund amount not greater than the value of theretracted currency.

The watermark may include a time and date stamp. The time and date stampmay be temporally linked to a time and date of an alleged SSKmalfunction specified in a mis-dispense claim. The time and date stampmay link a retraction with one or more SSK actions. For example, aretraction may typically be associated with SSK actions that occur twominutes prior and one minute after the retraction. The time and datestamp may correspond to a time during an ATM session initiated by acustomer.

For example, methods may identify one or more transactions that occurwithin a temporal range of a time and date stamp included in awatermark. The one or more transactions may include accessing an accountvia an ATM. Methods may identify a customer associated with the accessedaccount. Account information included in the mis-dispense claim may beassociated with one or more transactions that occur within a temporalrange of a time and date stamp included in a watermark.

Illustrative embodiments of apparatus and methods in accordance with theprinciples of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. It is to be understoodthat other embodiments may be utilized and structural, functional andprocedural modifications may be made without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the inventiondescribed herein may be embodied in whole or in part as a method, a dataprocessing system, or a computer program product. Accordingly, theinvention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software,hardware and any other suitable approach or apparatus.

Furthermore, such aspects may take the form of a computer programproduct stored by one or more computer-readable storage media havingcomputer-readable program code, or instructions, embodied in or on thestorage media. Any suitable computer readable storage media may beutilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices,magnetic storage devices, and/or any combination thereof. In addition,various signals representing data or events as described herein may betransferred between a source and a destination in the form ofelectromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such asmetal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g.,air and/or space).

FIG. 1 shows illustrative self-service device 100. Self-service device100 may be an ATM. Self-service device 100 includes monitor 102, keypad104, card reader port 106, acceptor 108, item dispenser 110 and securityscreen 112.

Monitor 102 may exchange visual and or audio information with acustomer. Keypad 104 may include alphanumeric keys 114 for the customerto enter numerical and textual data. Keypad 104 may include control keys116. In some embodiments, control keys 116 may be used to communicatecontrol information, such as instructions, to self-service device 100.Keypad 104 may include soft keys 118. Soft keys 118 may have functionsthat are dictated by programming and are presented to the customer usinginformation that may be displayed on monitor 102.

Card reader port 106 may be a front end of any suitable card reader. Thecard reader may read magnetically encoded information on transactioninstruments such as bank cards. In some embodiments, self-service device100 may include a contactless chip reader, a wireless transceiver or anyother suitable interface for exchanging transaction information with atransaction instrument. The transaction instrument may be a chip, anRFID tag, a smart card, a tablet, a smartphone or any suitable device.

In some embodiments, self-service device 100 may include a biometricsensor (not shown). The biometric sensor may identify a customer basedon a feature, such as an anatomical feature, of the customer. Forexample, the biometric sensor may be configured to identify the customerbased on all or part of a face, a fingerprint, an iris, a retina a handor any other suitable anatomical feature. The biometric sensor mayidentify the customer based on a behavioral feature such as a signature,a voice, a gait or any other suitable behavioral feature.

Acceptor 108 may accept any suitable tangible item. For example,acceptor 108 may accept envelopes, deposit forms, bills, checks or anyother suitable tangible item. In some embodiments, acceptor 108 may feedinto a scanner that digitizes the documents for image-based transactionprocessing.

Item dispenser 110 may dispense items. For example, item dispenser 110may dispense bills.

Security screen 112 may visually screen a surveillance device (notshown). The surveillance device may provide video information aboutindividuals that are present near the self-service device and theconditions near the self-service device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a generic computing device201 (alternatively referred to herein as a “server”) that may be usedaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. The computerserver 201 may have a processor 203 for controlling overall operation ofthe server and its associated components, including RAM 205, ROM 207,input/output module 209, and memory 215.

Input/output (“I/O”) module 209 may include a microphone, keypad, touchscreen, and/or stylus through which a user of device 201 may provideinput, and may also include one or more of a speaker for providing audiooutput and a video display device for providing textual, audiovisualand/or graphical output. Software may be stored within memory 215 and/orstorage to provide instructions to processor 203 for enabling server 201to perform various functions. For example, memory 215 may store softwareused by server 201, such as an operating system 217, applicationprograms 219, and an associated database 211. Alternatively, some or allof server 201 computer executable instructions may be embodied inhardware or firmware (not shown).

Server 201 may operate in a networked environment supporting connectionsto one or more remote computers, such as terminals 241 and 251.Terminals 241 and 251 may be personal computers or servers that includemany or all of the elements described above relative to server 201. Thenetwork connections depicted in FIG. 2 include a local area network(LAN) 225 and a wide area network (WAN) 229, but may also include othernetworks. When used in a LAN networking environment, computer 201 isconnected to LAN 225 through a network interface or adapter 213. Whenused in a WAN networking environment, server 201 may include a modem 227or other means for establishing communications over WAN 229, such asInternet 231.

It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areillustrative and other means of establishing a communications linkbetween the computers may be used. The existence of any of variouswell-known protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like ispresumed, and the system can be operated in a client-serverconfiguration to permit a user to retrieve web pages from a web-basedserver. Any of various conventional web browsers can be used to displayand manipulate data on web pages.

Additionally, application program 219, which may be used by server 201,may include computer executable instructions for invoking userfunctionality related to communication, such as email, short messageservice (SMS), and voice input and speech recognition applications.

Computing device 201 and/or terminals 241 or 251 may also be mobileterminals including various other components, such as a battery,speaker, and antennas (not shown).

Terminal 251 and/or terminal 241 may be portable devices such as alaptop, tablet, smartphone or any other suitable device for storing,transmitting and/or transporting relevant information.

Any information described above in connection with database 211, and anyother suitable information, may be stored in memory 215.

One or more of applications 219 may include one or more algorithms thatmay be used to perform analysis of associated transactions, identifytransaction patterns, determine values, apply watermarks, scan markedcurrency, determine a denomination of bills, or any suitable taskassociated with described apparatus and methods.

The invention may be operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include,but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-heldor laptop devices, mobile phones, tablets and/or other personal digitalassistants (“PDAs”), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-basedsystems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environmentsthat include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

The invention may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices.

FIG. 3 shows illustrative components 300 of a self-service kiosk(“SSK”). The SSK may include one or more features of device 100 (shownin FIG. 1). Components 300 may include a control system for controllinga SSK.

Components 300 include CPU 302. CPU 302 may include one or more featuresof server 201 (shown in FIG. 2). CPU 302 may exchange transactioninformation with electronic communication network N via modem 304, whichis in communication with router R.

CPU 302 may receive transaction information from a customer via monitor306, keypad 308, card reader 310, deposit acceptor 312 or bill dispenser314.

CPU 302 may direct the SSK to dispense bills through bill dispenser 314.CPU 302 may transmit information to bill dispenser 314 directing billdispenser 314 to retract any currency remaining in bill dispenser 314after expiration of a time out period.

Dispenser 314 may present the cash to a customer of the SSK. Dispenser314 may retract cash that is not collected by the customer. Theretracted cash may be transferred to stamp applicator 316. CPU 302 mayinstruct stamp applicator 316 to apply a mark to retracted cash. Themark may be applied to each bill that is retracted. The mark may includea transaction identifier. The mark may include a time and date stamp.The mark may include a denomination of each bill in the retracted cash.

CPU 302 may coordinate a transfer of retracted cash. Retracted cash maybe transferred from stamp applicator 316 to purge-bin 320. Cash storedin purge-bin 320 may be removed from the SSK. Purge-bin 320 may beremovable from the SSK. Cash stored in purge-bin 303 may be removed frompurge-bin 303 may transferred to a stamp reader (not shown). The stampreader may be configured to read information included in a mark appliedto currency.

Components 300 include acceptor 312. Acceptor 312 may accept one or moretangible items deposited by a user of the SSK. For example, the user maydeposit cash or checks into acceptor 312. CPU 302 may receive a requestto deposit a tangible item. CPU 302 may transmit information to depositacceptor 312. CPU 302 may instruct deposit acceptor 312 to accept one ormore tangible items inserted into deposit acceptor 312. A depositedtangible item may be stored in purge-bin 320 or a depository (notshown).

CPU 302 may instruct stamp applicator 316 to mark items inserted intodeposit acceptor 312. A tangible item inserted into acceptor 312 may betransferred to applicator 316. Applicator 316 may apply a mark to thedeposited tangible item. The mark may identify the tangible item as adeposited item. The mark may include a transaction identifier associatedwith the deposit. The mark may include an account number associated withthe deposit. After being marked, the deposited tangible item may bestored in purge-bin 320 or a depository (not shown).

The deposited items may be marked with a transaction identifier, atime/date stamp a deposit location or any suitable information. Markingthe tangible item may provide information that may be used to identify adepositor of a counterfeit of fraudulent tangible item. The informationincluded in an applied mark may be transmitted to network N.

Applicator 316 may apply a mark that includes information received fromnetwork N. For example, applicator 316 may receive a transactionidentifier via network N. The transaction identifier may be associated,in a database, with information relating to an ATM session, additionaltransaction identifier, historical transactions, customer identificationinformation, account number or any suitable information.

Components 300 include cash cassette 318. Cash cassette 318 may storetangible items available to be dispensed by the SSK. For example, cashcassette may store cash in one or more denominations. CPU 302 may directa transfer of cash from cash cassette 318 to bill dispenser 314.

FIG. 4 shows illustrative process flow 400. For the sake ofillustration, the steps of the process illustrated in FIG. 4 will bedescribed as being performed by a “system.” The “system” may include oneor more of the features of the apparatus that are shown in FIGS. 1-3and/or any other suitable device or approach. The “system” may beprovided by an entity. The entity may be an individual, an organizationor any other suitable entity. Arrow between steps in process flow 400are shown in broken-line to indicate that the steps

At step 1, a customer requests a withdrawal of cash. The customer mayrequest the withdrawal by presenting one or more credentials at an ATM.The credentials may include a bank card and a personal identificationnumber.

At step 2, the ATM dispenses an amount of cash requested by thecustomer. The cash may be presented to the customer via a dispenser ofthe ATM. The dispenser may include one or more features of dispenser 110(shown in FIG. 1) or dispenser 314 (shown in FIG. 3).

At step 3, the customer leaves some or all of the dispensed cash in thedispenser. The customer may intentionally leave a portion of thedispensed cash in the dispenser. The customer may unintentionally leavecash in the dispenser. At step 4, the system retracts any uncollectedcash.

At step 5, the system applies a mark to the retracted cash. The mark mayinclude an ultraviolet watermark or other suitable mark. The mark mayinclude one or more features of the uncollected cash. The mark mayinclude an ATM session identifier or other suitable transactionidentifier. The mark may be applied to each bill included in theretracted cash. The retracted and marked cash may be stored in apurge-bin of the ATM. The purge-bin may include one or more features ofpurge-bin 320 (shown in FIG. 3).

At step 6, the system removes the retracted and marked cash from theATM. The cash may be removed from the ATM by removing the purge-bin fromthe ATM. The retracted cash may be removed from the ATM by armoredpersonnel and services typically employed to transfer cash.

At step 7, the retracted and marked cash stored is scanned. The scanningreads the ultraviolet watermark, or other suitable mark, applied to theretracted cash. The scanning may include erasing the applied mark.Erasing the applied mark may avoid recirculating marked cash that may bemistakenly associated with information included in the mark.

At step 8, the system determines a value of the retracted cash. Thevalue may be determined based on information included in the markapplied to the retracted cash. The value may be determined by examiningthe retracted cash. The examining may include determining a denominationof each bill marked with a transaction identifier. The examining mayinclude counting each bill marked with a transaction identifier. Theretracted cash may be examined by a cash validator.

At step 9, the system recirculates the cash. Recirculating the cash mayinclude loading the cash into a cash cassette, such as cash cassette 318(shown in FIG. 3). The cash cassette may be inserted into an ATM. Inresponse to a request for a withdrawal of cash, cash may be retrievedfrom the cash cassette.

FIG. 5 shows illustrative marked bills 500. Marked bills 500 includebill 501. Bill 501 includes serial number 507. Serial number 507 mayuniquely identify bill 501.

Bill 501 is marked with ultraviolet watermark 505. Watermark 505 isshown in broken-line to indicate that watermark 505 may be invisible toa human eye. Watermark 505 includes a transaction number. Thetransaction number may be a transaction identifier. Watermark 505includes a date and time stamp. Watermark 505 includes a deviceidentifier. The device identifier may correspond to specific SSK. Thedevice identifier may correspond to a specific location.

Watermark 505 includes a denomination of bill 501. The denomination maybe determined based on a denomination associated with a cash cassette.Watermark 505 may include any suitable information, such as serialnumber 507.

Marked bills 500 include bills 502 and 504. Bills 501, 502 and 504 areeach associated with a one transaction number. The transaction numbermay correspond to an SSK session. For example, each of bills 501, 502and 504 may have been retracted during a single SSK session. Each ofbills 501, 502 and 504 may have been dispensed in response to awithdrawal request of an SSK customer. Each of bills 501, 502 and 504may be distinguished based on the unique serial number printed on eachbill.

FIG. 6 shows illustrative process 600. For the sake of illustration, thesteps of the process illustrated in FIG. 6 will be described as beingperformed by a “system.” The “system” may include one or more of thefeatures of the apparatus or processes that are shown in FIGS. 1-5and/or any other suitable device or approach. The “system” may beprovided by an entity. The entity may be an individual, an organizationor any other suitable entity.

At step 601, the system receives a request from a customer for awithdrawal of an amount of cash. At step 603, the system identifies anaccount of the customer. At step 605, the system assigns a transactionidentifier to the request. At step 607, the system associates thetransaction identifier with the account of the customer. The associationbetween the customer account and the transaction identifier may bestored in a database such as database 211 (shown in FIG. 2).

At step 609, the system dispenses the requested amount of cash to thecustomer. The dispensing may utilize a dispenser such as dispenser 110(shown in FIG. 1) or dispenser 314 (shown in FIG. 3). If cash remains inthe dispenser after expiration of time-out period, at step 611, thesystem retracts the uncollected cash.

At step 613, the system applies a watermark to the retracted cash. Thewatermark may be an ultraviolet watermark. The watermark may includeprinting a RFID tag on a bill. The watermark may be applied to each billretracted by the system. The watermark includes the transactionidentifier associated with the account of the customer.

The watermark may be applied to a portion of the bills retracted by thesystem. For example, the system may apply the watermark to a firstretracted bill and a last retracted bill. The watermark applied to thefirst and last bills may indicate that any bills between the first andlast bills are associated with one transaction identifier.

At step 615, the system stores retracted cash in a purge-bin. At step617, the system unloads the retracted cash stored in the purge-bin. Atstep 619, the system reads the watermark applied to cash retrieved fromthe purge bin. Based on information included in the watermark applied tothe retracted cash, at step 621, the system identifies the accountassociated with the transaction identifier. The account may beidentified based on the relationship established at step 607 that linksthe transaction identifier and the customer's account.

At step 623, the system associates a value of the watermarked cash thatincludes the transaction identifier with the corresponding account. Thevalue of the retracted cash may be determined based on a denominationincluded in the watermark. At step 625, the system relates the value ofthe watermarked cash with a submitted mis-dispense claim. The relationmay be established based on information included in the mis-dispenseclaim. For example, the mis-dispense claim may identify a customer,customer account or transaction identifier.

FIG. 7 shows illustrative information 700. Information 700 includeswatermark information 701. Information 701 includes one or moreattributes that may be included in a watermark applied to currency.

Watermark information 701 includes a time/Date. The time/date maycorrespond to an action performed by an SSK. The time/date maycorrespond to request submitted by a customer of the SSK. Watermarkinformation 701 includes a location. The location may correspond to alocation of the SSK. Watermark information 701 includes an expecteddenomination. The expected denomination may correspond to a denominationof currency stored in a cash cassette. Watermark information includes atransaction identifier. The transaction identifier may correspond to anaction performed by the SSK. The transaction identifier may be generatedby an applicator of the watermark. Watermark information may be storedin a database such as database 211 (shown in FIG. 2).

Information 700 includes currency examination information 703.Examination information 703 includes one or more attributes of a billthat may be obtained by examining the bill. The bill may be retracted bya SSK. Examination information 703 includes a count. The count may be anumber of bills retracted by the SSK. Examination information 703includes a location. The location may correspond to a location of theSSK. Examination information 703 includes a denomination. Thedenomination may correspond to a denomination of a retracted bill.

Examination information 703 includes a bill serial number. The billserial number may be any identifying characteristic of a retracted bill.Examination information 703 includes scanned watermark information. Thescanned watermark information may include one or more informationalitems included in information 701.

Information 700 shows that watermark information 701 may include one ormore attributes that are related to one or more attributes ofexamination information 703. For example, transaction identifier 711 ofwatermark information 701 may be included in scanned watermarkinformation 715. A relationship between watermark information andexamination information may be stored in a database such as database 211(shown in FIG. 2).

Information 700 includes customer account information 705. Accountinformation 705 includes attributes related to an account of a SSKcustomer. Account information 705 includes a customer name. Accountinformation 705 includes an account number. Account information 705includes account transaction log 713. Account transaction log 713 maylist transactions that are associated with the account number.Information 700 shows that account information 705 may include one ormore attributes of watermark information 701. For example, accounttransaction log 713 may include transaction identifier 711.

Information 700 includes SSK actions 707. SSK actions 707 includeactions performed by an SSK such as an ATM. Illustrative SSK actions areshow above in Table 1. Each SSK action performed may be associated withtime/date 717. Time/date 717 may correspond to a time/date included inwatermark information 701.

For example, a watermark applied to a retracted bill may include atime/date of the retraction. The time/date of the retraction maycorrespond to time/date 717. As a further example, a watermark appliedto a retracted bill may include a time/date of a dispensing. Thetime/date of the dispensing may correspond to time/date 717. One or morerelationships linking information 701, 705, 703 and 707 may be stored indatabase 211 (shown in FIG. 2).

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the steps shownand described herein may be performed in other than the recited orderand that one or more steps illustrated may be optional. The methods ofthe above-referenced embodiments may involve the use of any suitableelements, steps, computer-executable instructions, or computer-readabledata structures. In this regard, other embodiments are disclosed hereinas well that can be partially or wholly implemented on acomputer-readable medium, for example, by storing computer-executableinstructions or modules or by utilizing computer-readable datastructures.

Thus, systems and methods for marking of retracted currency have beenprovided. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the presentinvention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments,which are presented for purposes of illustration rather than oflimitation. The present invention is limited only by the claims thatfollow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for marking currency dispensed by an automated teller machine (“ATM”), the system comprising: a cash cassette configured to store cash; a cash dispenser configured to disburse cash and retract cash; a watermark applicator configured to print an identifier on cash; and a watermark reader configured to read the identifier after cash is retracted by the dispenser; wherein the identifier comprises a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the watermark applicator is configured to apply the identifier after cash is retracted by the dispenser.
 3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a purge-bin configured to store cash retracted by the dispenser; wherein the watermark reader is configured to read the identifier after cash is removed from the purge bin.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the watermark applicator applies an ultraviolet stamp that is invisible to a human eye.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the identifier comprises: a denomination; a transaction identifier associated with a request to withdraw the cash from the ATM; and a time and date.
 6. A system for marking currency dispensed by an automated teller machine (“ATM”), the system comprising an ATM keypad, a cash cassette, a dispenser and a watermark applicator, the system configured to: receive, via the ATM keypad, a request for an amount of currency; extract the amount of currency from the cash cassette; dispense the amount of currency from the dispenser; using the dispenser, retract at least a portion of the amount of currency; and using the watermark applicator, apply a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag to at least the portion of the amount of currency.
 7. The system of claim 6 further comprising a purge-bin and a watermark scanner, the system configured to: store the portion of the amount of currency in the purge bin; using the watermark scanner, read the RFID tag; and based on the read, determine a value of the portion of the currency.
 8. The system of claim 6 wherein, when the portion of the amount of currency comprises a plurality of retracted notes, the watermark applicator is configured to apply the RFID tag to a first retracted note and a last retracted note.
 9. The system of claim 6 wherein when the portion of the amount of currency comprises a plurality of retracted notes, the watermark applicator is configured to apply the RFID tag to each of the notes in the plurality.
 10. The system of claim 6 further comprising a computer system, the computer system configured to: identify a customer account associated with the request; and debit the customer account a difference between the amount and the value.
 11. The system of claim 6, wherein, when the currency comprises a plurality of notes, the RFID tag stores data associated with each note, the data comprising: a denomination of each note in the plurality of notes; and a transaction identifier associated with the request for the amount of currency.
 12. The system of claim 6 further configured to apply the RFID tag after the retracting.
 13. The system of claim 6 further comprising a watermark scanner, the scanner configured to read the RFID tag and erase the RFID tag.
 14. A method for determining a value of bills retracted by an automated teller machine (“ATM”), the ATM comprising: a dispenser including hardware; a watermark applicator including hardware; a watermark scanner including hardware; and a computer system including hardware, the computer system comprising: a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein; and a processor configured to execute the computer readable program code; the method comprising: receiving, using the ATM, a request to dispense a plurality of bills; using the computer system, associating a transaction identifier with the plurality of bills; using the watermark applicator of the ATM, applying a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag to each bill in the plurality of bills; using the dispenser, retracting at least a portion of the plurality of bills; and after the retracting, using the watermark scanner, reading information stored on the RFID tag applied to each bill in the portion of bills; wherein the computer readable program code in said computer system when executed by the processor: stores the transaction identifier in the RFID tag; and based on the reading of the RFID tag, determines a value corresponding to the portion of bills.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the computer readable program code in said computer system when executed by the processor causes the computer system to: associate the value with the transaction identifier; identify a customer account corresponding to the transaction identifier; and debit the customer account a difference between the amount and the value.
 16. The method of claim 14 further comprising, using the watermark scanner, erasing the RFID tag from each bill after the scanning.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein the computer readable program code in said computer system when executed by the processor: receives a mis-dispense claim comprising a request for a refund amount; relates the mis-dispense claim to: the transaction identifier stored in the RFID tag; the value corresponding to the portion of the bills; compares the refund amount to the value; and responds to the mis-dispense claim based on a difference between the refund amount and the value.
 18. The method of claim 14 wherein the RFID tag stores a time and date stamp associated with the transaction identifier.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the computer readable program code in said computer system when executed by the processor: identifies: a claimant associated with the mis-dispense claim; and an account associated with the claimant; and determines if the account is associated with the time and date stamp stored in the RFID tag. 